Ninten of 1988
by CosmicTwilightEmi
Summary: The year is 1988. A boy from a small town named Ninten is told by Queen Mary in his dreams to find 8 Melodies across America. These Melodies might prove to be very important during his adventure.
1. Ninten the Adventurous Dreamer

_In 1906, a dark shadow covered a small country town in rural America. At that time, a young married couple vanished mysteriously from their home. The man's name was George, and the woman's name was Maria. Two years later in 1908, as suddenly as he left, George returned. He never told anyone where he had been or what he had done. But, he began an odd study, all by himself. As for Maria, his wife... She never returned._

_80 years have passed since then. The year is 1988, the town in question was Podunk, and a 12 year old boy named Ninten, the great-grandson of George, has been having strange dreams lately. One night, he was once again reading his great-grandfather's diary on a special power called PSI._

"For some reason, I can't seem to stop reading great-grandpa's diary," Ninten thought to himself. "It's so interesting to know of his encounters from his salad days."

"Ninten, time for bed!" Ninten's mother called from downstairs.

_Ninten closes the book, places it under his pillow, and goes to bed. Later that night, he finds himself in a strange world where the sky was green, the ground was made of pink clouds, and the buildings resembled pink conch shells._

"Where am I? What is this place?"

"Ninten..."

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Ninten..."

_Just then, small elven children dressed in colorful outfits came out of their houses to bring Ninten north to a huge pink castle. When they got there, a beautiful queen with blonde hair, green eyes, and dressed in pink steps out._

"Ninten, you are in Magicant, and we need your help," the queen said. "Bring George's diary and enter the cave to the east of Podunk."

"But how is that going to help you with... whatever's goin' on?"

"We will tell you the riddle when you get there. You may be able to find the answer in that book."

"Wait! I don't understand! What are you trying to say?"

_But before Ninten could get an answer, the dream ends and he wakes up in his bed._

"It was just a dream... but it seems to mean something very important..."

_As Ninten thinks over the strange dream, his lamp attacks, knocking him off his bed!_

"What the? My lamp is moving by itself?"

_Ninten grabs his baseball bat and shatters his lamp in one blow._

"A poltergeist must be attacking our house!"

_Just then, Ninten hears the cries of Mimmie, one of his kid sisters. He heads over to her room and sees her Doll standing as if it were alive._

"Big brother! My Doll is scaring me! Do something please!" Mimmie pleaded.

_Ninten walks over to the Doll, which lunges itself at Ninten, but he retaliates by knocking it across the room with his bat, where it hits the wall and stops moving. The kids walk over to the Doll and sees that it has indeed stopped moving._

"Wow, Ninten, that was awesome! You should be a Ghostbuster!"

"Nah, I'm not worthy of that position, sis! But I can't wait to see the second movie because the first one was awesome! I hope the sequel doesn't suck, though..."

_Just then, Ninten notices something inside the doll. It was a music box. Ninten winds it up, and it lets out a brief melody._

"Ugh, great, I'm going to have that melody stuck in my head all day."

* * *

><p><em>Later, after breakfast, Ninten tells his mother about the attack on their house.<em>

"You're right, honey; it might have been a poltergeist. I'm so relieved that everyone's all right. I just wish your father was home at the time..."

_Just then, the phone rang and Ninten answers it._

"Hello?"

"Ninten, it's your father."

"Hey, dad! Earlier this morning, our house was attacked by poltergeists!"

"I know. This might have something to do with PSI."

"PSI? Like in great-grandpa's diary?"

"Precisely. Now, son, I would like to talk to your mother about something important."

_Ninten hands the phone over to his mother._

"Yes, dear? ... What? But he just turned 12! ... Beneficial? I don't know. Yes, I'm aware that he's never put Grandpa George's diary down once since he found it in the basement... There was a map downstairs, too? ... In a gift box? ... No, I don't know where the key is..."

_Ninten heard the whole thing, and heads outside to ponder. His dog, Mick, comes up to him._

"Mom and Dad are having a conversation. This has to be serious. I mean, I know that the diary was in the basement, but a map? Oh my God I'm so curious! But I don't even have the key to the basement..."

_Just then, Ninten notices something shiny on Mick's collar. It was the basement key!_

"Oh yeah; Dad must've forgot that he put the key around your collar! Thanks, Mick!"

_Ninten retrieves the key and is about to go back indoors, but his mom steps out first._

"Ninten, sweetheart, we need to have a talk."

"I think I know where you're getting at, Mom. I'm heading to the basement right now to get this map."

"You... you heard what me and Dad said?"

"Sorry, Mom, eavesdropping is wrong, right?"

"No, this time, you did that at the right time. Your father and I decided that you should follow wherever the map goes."

_After those words, Ninten unlocks the basement door, heads downstairs, and finds the present box. He opens it, and a rat comes out and attacks him. And once Ninten smacks the rodent across the room, he retrieves the map from the box and reads it._

"That's... that's our homeland! And what are those Xs? Hmm... PSI points? 'If you come to a point, you will here an important melody'. Important... hey, there's an 'X' on Podunk! 'There are 3 of them back home in Podunk'. There's more?"

* * *

><p><em>And so begins Ninten's adventure. He is still confused about what his great-grandfather tried to tell him through the diary and map. Right now, the map is the focus at that point. As he leaves the house to browse around Podunk, he hears a cry of despair from next door.<em>

"That's Mrs. Lindgren! I better go over there to see what's up!"

_Ninten rushes over to the Lindgrens' house._

"Mrs. Lindgren, what's wrong?"

"Oh me, oh my, oh, Ninten! Pippi is gone! She said she went to South Cemetery to pay respects to Grandpa Lindgren, and she never came back!"

"What? That's horrible! Where could she be?"

"That's the worst part! Zombies have just overtaken Podunk and might be holding her captive to eat her brains!"

"Geez Mrs. Lindgren, I never knew you were a Hammer Horror buff. Don't worry, I'll get Pippi back, even if I die trying!"

"Thank you Ninten, but please, be careful!"

_Ninten rushes through town as fast as he can, focusing solely on getting to the cemetery. In only a few minutes, Ninten finally makes it and is stopped by a priest._

"Not so fast, vile zombie!"

_The priest hits Ninten on the head with a cross._

"Ow! Father McKenzie, it's me, Ninten!"

"Oh! Goodness, I am so sorry! Zombies have invaded our humble town of Podunk and is holding the Lindgren girl captive to eat her brains!"

"I know! I'm here to save her! Where is she?"

"Underground. Follow me!"

_Father McKenzie guides Ninten to a stairwell leading underground._

"There it is. Ninten, may the Lord watch over you as you go to save poor little Pippi."

"Thanks, Father."

_Ninten climbs down the stairwell and finds a door. He opens the door and finds a room with 4 coffins._

"There's 4 coffins... "

Just then, a voice screamed, "Help! Somebody! It's cramped and smelly in this coffin!"

_Ninten follows the voice from inside the coffin it came from. He prys it open and out came a young red-haired girl with pigtails and freckles._

"Ninten!"

"Pippi! I'm so glad I've found you!"

"Quick, let's get out of here!"

_Just then, the remaining 3 coffins open to reveal zombies. They slowly walk over to the kids._

"Ninten, what'll we do?"

"Let's fight our way out!"

_Ninten destroys a zombie with a sharp swing of his baseball bat and repeats with another. As Pippi watched, the 3rd zombie inches towards her, much to her terror._

"Eek! Go away, you brain-sucking freak!"

_Without realizing it, Pippi KICKS THE ZOMBIE'S HEAD CLEAN OFF!_

"Woah, Pippi! I never knew you had such strength!"

"I don't either! I think you're actually physically stronger than _me!_"

_As Ninten and Pippi escape from the underground chamber and make it to the surface, more zombies come and surround them!_

"Oh no, we're so doomed!" cried Pippi.

"There's no way I can take on this many zombies at once, and there's nowhere to run! Darn it!" Ninten shouted.

_During Ninten's moment of frustration, he starts to feel a strange, powerful surge of energy coursing through his body._

"Pippi... please, take my hand."

"Oh, Ninten..."

_Pippi takes Ninten's hand, and Ninten... somehow manages to defy the laws of physics and escape from the zombies and have them end up back at Pippi's house._

"Ninten, what was that?"

"Pippi, that was the 4th Dimension Slip."

"The what?"

"We flew out of the zombies' grasp using PSI... Pippi! I have PSI! Reading great-grandpa's diary has made all of this make sense!"

"Man, you're so lucky, Ninten!"

"Ninten, Pippi! Oh thank God the both of you are okay!" cried Mrs. Lindgren in relief. "I'm going to tell everyone in town!"

_Mrs. Lindgren rushes off to town._

"Oh Ninten, one more thing," said Pippi. "Hold out your hand and close your eyes, please."

_Ninten does as he's told, and it looks like Pippi's about to kiss him... but instead, she gives Ninten a small round badge with a lightning bolt on it. Ninten opens his eyes to see his present._

"What is this?"

"The Franklin Badge. It reflects death rays back at your enemies!"

"Oh yeah, the diary said that it does! And that there's only 2 in the whole world! Thanks, Pippi!"

* * *

><p><em>Ninten goes home to take a break for the day. The zombie attacks have died down completely, but does Ninten get praised for his heroic feat? No. Mayor A. Goodman gets credit. The next morning, while thinking about the dream he had again, Ninten reads the newspaper and is not amused.<em>

"Gee, the mayor's ego is so big that it'll be a second moon for Earth..."

_Shortly after, Ninten resumes his quest and goes to demand meeting with Mayor Goodman. He gets his demand, and meets the mayor._

"Ah, Ninten, my boy!"

"Don't sweet-talk me, Mayor Goodman. You took credit for what I did!"

"Yeah, I apologize for that. I needed some good reputation because there's an election coming up! Right, Abbott?"

Abbott, the mayor's aide, replied, "Yes sir, Mr. Mayor, sir!"

"Here kid, have $100," Goodman said as he gives Ninten the money.

"Is this a bribe?" Ninten asked.

"No, this is a reward."

"What?"

"Listen, boy, the zoo has some problems. The animals have gone berserk and escaped. Specifically, alligators, elephants, gorillas, hyenas, and tigers."

"What about the penguins, Mayor? WHAT ABOUT THE PENGUINS!"

"Chill out, they're okay! Now, Abbott, give Ninten the key to the zoo."

"You got it, sir!"

_Ninten receives the key._

"Thank you. Now I have to go and save the penguins before they're tiger bait!"

_As Ninten heads for Choucream Zoo, something in his mind told him to go to the department store first. He heads to the top floor of the store and goes to the counter._

"How much for a canary chick?"

"Huh? $85, kid."

"$85?"

"Too steep for ya? I'll just give it to you for free."

"Deal!"

_So, Ninten gets the canary chick and heads for the zoo. On the way, he stops by Canary Village._

"I remember! On the way to Choucream Zoo, there's Canary Village! Something tells me why I got you... do you miss your mother?"

_When Ninten got to the Village, a man walks up to Ninten._

"Hey son, that baby canary is Laura's. She'd be so happy to know that you've found him. Laura!"

_An unusually large canary the size of Ninten's own mother flies over and roosts on the ground. She sees her baby in Ninten's hands and chirped softly. The baby flew to Laura and roosted on her back. She then sings her baby to sleep._

"I'm not going to forget this, either. One more melody to go in Podunk..." Ninten thought to himself.

_Ninten then heads off to Choucream Zoo and reaches the gate. The gate was locked, and a monkey was hanging from the bars. As Ninten tried to unlock the gate with the key, the monkey steals it and unlocks it himself, then runs off back to his cage. Ninten goes inside the zoo to see that the calmer animals are okay. The flamingos, bunnies, pandas, and especially the penguins, are all safe._

"What a relief," said Ninten.

_Ninten ventures further into the zoo and runs across the very same monkey from before. The sign states, "One of a kind! See the amazing Singing Monkey!" Ninten believes that the 3rd melody is from the monkey._

"Can you sing me a song?"

The monkey shook his head "no".

"No? Why?"

_The monkey pointed at the Superintendent's Office in the southeast from his cage. Ninten takes the hint and heads to the building, out-running the crazy beasts chasing him. He goes inside, and searches every room, until he reaches the top floor and sees a giant floating capsule. Ninten examines the capsule, and it opens to reveal a small, pink spaceman._

"So, human child, you've come to stop me?"

"Who or what are you?"

"I am Starman Jr."

"So, you're the one who made the animals go crazy!"

"I'm only following the orders of our leader, Gyiyg. He's hated humans for a long time, and this is our first step in destroying them all, so do not interfere! PK BEAM DELTA!"

_Starman Jr. fires the deadly beam. Thinking quickly, Ninten uses the Franklin Badge, reflects the beam back at Starman Jr. and disintegrates him._

"That oughta do it," said Ninten.

_Ninten looks out the window to see the animals return to their senses. He then goes back outside and walks up to the Singing Monkey's cage. The monkey was so happy to see peace return that he started to sing... and Ninten remembers this, too. Ninten then heads home to return to normalcy for the day once again. But one of these days, he has to complete his journey, because the melodies stuck in his head might be of importance..._


	2. Onward to Merrysville

_"Ninten... Ninten..."_

_Ninten once again finds himself in Magicant, but this time, he's right at the castle. The queen appears before him._

"Ninten, please don't hesitate. Come to Magicant right away."

"But aren't I already in Magicant, your majesty?"

"This is another dream."

"Then how can I get to Magicant in reality?"

"There's a cave east from Podunk that leads to Magicant. Go east to reach the cave. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, now please, wake up."

_Ninten wakes up in his bed, his room lit by the morning sun. Shortly after, he does his morning regimen such as getting dressed and eating breakfast, and heads off for the cave after saying good-bye to his mother, sisters, and Mick. His inventory consists of stuff like his great-grandfather George's diary, the map, his baseball bat, the Franklin Badge, and his inhaler. He arrives at the east end of town and crosses the bridge. He makes it to the cave and enters to find... a giant pink conch with "XX" engraved on it. As Ninten touches it, a whispering voice speaks to him. Ninten tries Telepathy, prompting it to ask, "Who has lost his tail?" Ninten rummages through his inventory, pulls out his great-grandfather's diary, and turns some pages to find the answer, which was:_

"The forgotten one of the ship that sails the cosmos!"

_Just then, a flash of light fills the entire cave, and Ninten finds himself in Magicant, this time for real._

"This is it... Magicant!"

_A strange cat that swims on the ground comes up to Ninten._

"Hi! Welcome to Magicant! You seem friendly. By any chance, you wouldn't happen to be Ninten, would you?"

"Ninten? That's my name."

"Oh, this is wonderful! Queen Mary was expecting you!"

"I know; she contacted me in my dreams a few times! Where is her castle?"

"North from here," the cat pointed out.

"Thank you!"

_Ninten heads north to the castle where two guards stop him._

"Suspicious boy... I'll let you pass, if you solve this riddle."

"Riddle? Um..."

_Ninten uses Telepathy._

"Does it involve two alligators?"

"That's right! Two alligators! But, I haven't even told you the riddle. You may pass."

_Ninten passes through and enters the castle. A bodyguard walks up to him._

"Are you Ninten?"

"Yes. Can you escort me to Queen Mary?"

"Right this way."

_The bodyguard leads Ninten through a few halls to the throne room, where Queen Mary sits. Ninten walks up to her._

"Ninten, welcome to Magicant. You can have as many friends as you like."

"Queen Mary, I have 3 different melodies stuck in my head. Do you know anything about them?"

"You want to hear my song? Sadly, I can't remember, but it's very, very important. I beg you to learn the melody. It is only 8 notes long."

"I promise."

"The next melody is in Spookane, which can only be reached by train from the Union Station in Merrysville. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Is there anyway that I can leave this place?"

"There is a well southeast from here that leads to an underground path where the exit can be found. But you'll need to be escorted by the Flying Men who live east from the castle. Good luck, Ninten."

"Thank you, your majesty."

_Ninten heads east to the Flying Men's house. He knocks on the door, and the door opens. Ninten goes inside and sees the Flying Men, 5 bird-like people._

"A visitor! Welcome to the house of the Flying Men!"

"Can you guys take me to the well, please?"

"You must be Ninten. Right away!"

_The Flying Men then carry Ninten away to the well. They all roosted onto the cloud-like ground._

"Before you go, one of us will have to go with you to guide you through the maze below."

_Ninten descends down the ladder with a Flying Man, who navigates him through the maze. When they're about to reach the end, random enemies attack them! Ninten smacks one of them away with his bat._

"Ninten! Go on without me, I'll stave them off!"

"But Flying Man, I can't abandon you! What if you get killed?"

"Don't worry about me! Queen Mary wants you to help her re-learn the song!"

_With that, Ninten runs off to the end of the maze and gets attacked by a large fish. Ninten beats it with his baseball bat, and a strange fish hook made of agate appears. Ninten picks it up and heads to the end where sees a sulking old man._

"I am the Forgotten Man. Even since birth, no one knows I even exist. Are you a forgotten man, too?"

"No, sir."

"Then, ignore me like all the others."

"I guess I should..."

_The man disappeared. Ninten then walked past where the man was and entered the portal. It sent him to another pink "XX" conch in another cave._

"Where am I?"

_Ninten walked around until he found himself in the wild._

"Wow..."

_Just then, a pack of wolves appeared._

"Wolves! I gotta get outta here! 4TH DIMENSION SLIP!"

_Ninten escapes the wolves and heads north, where Merrysville is. He runs around aimlessly until the blaring horns of a traffic jam got into his earshot. The cars were emitting exhaust fumes, and were starting to irritate Ninten's asthma._

"Wheeze, wheeze... oh no, my asthma's acting up!"

_Ninten frantically searches his inventory for his inhaler, but the exhaust fumes clouded his vision, and when he has finally believed to found it, he passes out._

* * *

><p><em>Ninten awakens to find himself in what looks like the nurse's office at a school.<em>

"Where am I?"

"You're at the nurse's office."

"Nurse's office?"

"At good ol' Twinkle Elementary School."

_Ninten gets his inhaler out and uses it._

"Are you new here?"

"New? No, I'm not a transfer student."

"Well, be on your way."

_Ninten leaves the nurse's office and looks around the hall, when..._

"Hey, did you hear the one about that wimp Lloyd?"

"What a dork this kid is! When we were playing baseball on the playground, he chickened out when he was up to bat!"

_Ninten walked up to those two kids._

"Hey, what am I hearing? Who is this Lloyd you're picking on?"

"None of your beeswax, geek-wad! He's just some wuss!"

_Ninten grabs the collar of the boy._

"It's not nice to pick on people, you know. Now tell me what Lloyd is really like, or else the nurse's office gets its next visitor!"

"Geez, man, okay! Just put me down and I'll spill the beans."

_Ninten puts the boy down._

"Lloyd is about yea high, has light brown-grey hair, freckles, wears glasses, and spends a lot of time on the school roof alone. He also likes explosives such as Pencil Rockets."

"Thanks kid."

_Ninten then heads for the roof, but the door was locked._

"Rats, the door is locked. I better go look for the janitor."

_Ninten looks around for the janitor's room. He finds it, and the janitor is there._

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I need to go on the school roof, sir."

"You kids, always wanting something from me, just like my lazy, spoiled wife! Every day of my life, I'd come home dead tired, while my wife has used all the credit cards to go shopping!"

"What?"

"On the other hand, she knows what my favorite sandwich is and packs it in my lunch every week. Do you think my wife is terrible?"

"When you brought up the part with the sandwich, I'm going to say no."

"You're a nice kid. Would you like some tea?"

"Sure."

_Ninten and the janitor have a tea break._

"You know, my mom makes prime ribs every week for dinner. I had some last night; they're my favorite!"

"She must be a sweet woman. So, what are you here for?"

"She is, and I was here to ask you to unlock the door to the school roof."

"Oh, that. Sure! Follow me."

_Ninten follows the janitor to the door, the janitor unlocks it, and Ninten goes up to the roof. He sees a marvelous view of Merrysville from there._

"Wow..."

_Just then, he hears metallic shaking._

"What was that?"

_Ninten walked over to where the noise came from: a trash can. As he reaches to lift the lid..._

"DON'T OPEN THAT TRASH CAN!"

"Woah!" Ninten recoiled. "A-are you Lloyd?"

"Who told you? You're not going to beat me up, are you?"

"No."

"Don't tell anyone, but I stole some explosives."

"Is this why you're hiding up here on the school roof?"

"Yes. I love the power of man-made technology, and explosives seem to pique my interest the most, especially Pencil Rockets. There's an abandoned factory south of Merrysville where they used to make them called Sweet Little's, so if I'm to know if you're sure, you have to go there and find one for me. Please?"

"If that's what it takes for you to come out of that trash can."

_Ninten runs off to Sweet Little's and when he got there, he goes inside. He searched high and low for a Pencil Rocket, trying to avoid pesky rats along the way, until he manages to find a trash can on the top floor that happens to contain one. Ninten does another 4th Dimension Slip and ends up back on the school roof._

"Here it is, Lloyd," said Ninten as he hands the Pencil Rocket to Lloyd, who climbs out of the trash can.

"Wow, thanks! You're almost like Superman to find one this fast, Ninten! I can't wait to test this baby out! Let's go to the lab!"

_Ninten and Lloyd head downstairs and to the school lab. Lloyd sets up everything he needs and began to test the Pencil Rocket, when..._

_BOM!_

_... the lab was a complete mess._

"Oh no, the lab is dismantled!"

"Lloyd, grab my hand," Ninten says as he opens the window.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU CAN'T JUST JUMP!"

"I know what I'm doing, just grab my hand!"

_Lloyd grabs Ninten's hand._

"4TH DIMENSION SLIP!"

_Ninten and Lloyd zip out the window and to another part of town._

"Wow, you ARE just like Superman! How is that even possible?"

"The truth is, Lloyd, I have PSI."

"PSI? That power that this George guy was studying?"

"Yes. George is my great-grandfather, and they thought that he was crazy because he was obsessed with finding out the secret. I somehow have it; I have proof," Ninten says as he pulls out a bent spoon from his pocket.

"A bent spoon... I believe you; nobody can bend a spoon like that unless they have psychic powers!"

"Man, all this use of PSI is making me hungry," Ninten said as he places his hand on his stomach.

"I could also go for a bite to eat," Lloyd agreed as he does the same thing.

_Later, at a fast food restaurant, the boys got a couple of hamburgers, french fries, and some orange juice. Lloyd may have been nervous, but at this moment, he started telling his life story._

"Well, I was born here in Merrysville, albeit 10 days and 10 hours late, the doctor, Old Sawbones Benny, was concerned that I wouldn't make it, but he was surprised, and I've spent all my life here in this town..."

_After finishing lunch, the boys head back outside while Lloyd was still talking._

"... When I was 3, I found a book about the Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein on my dad's bookshelf and he let me keep it; FYI, I still carry it around in my backpack; it's like a security blanket to me..."

_Lloyd continued to ramble on as Ninten waits for the lights to turn red._

"... And when I was 4, I invented something called Bathroom TV, which involved myself redirecting 4 mirrors from the bathroom to the TV in the living room, so that I can watch science documentaries, as well as anything Superman-related, while taking a bath..."

_And as they went to the hotel..._

"... and to honor Einstein like most of the things I've done, at age 8, I was almost done with a time machine and was about to announce it, but the kids at Twinkle Elementary didn't care, and I was so nervous that I hid in a trash can to avoid getting any bruises."

"Wow, those kids are jerks," said Ninten.

"You have NO idea. By the way, why are we at a hotel? I can take you to my house."

_As the boys head to Lloyd's house, Lloyd continues to talk._

"I often compare myself with Superman. He's a hero from another world, but he lives life as your average man, going to work at Daily Planet, and when a crisis comes, he saves the day. But even people like him have weaknesses, too. His is Kryptonite, a green crystal that has devastating effects on his people. My Kryptonite happens to be awkwardness."

"Lloyd, I have something to tell you. The reason I came here is because I've been ordered by a queen to find 8 Melodies throughout America. I've found 3 so far in my hometown of Podunk, and I'm going to Spookane to find the 4th one."

"S-Spookane?"

"I might need a travel companion, and since you have bully problems..."

"Just as long as you protect me from zombies!"

"Deal!"

_So, Ninten spends the night at Lloyd's house. For dinner, they had chicken and mashed potatoes. After dinner, Lloyd shows Ninten around the house, and finally, his bedroom. It had posters of Einstein and Superman, shelves crammed with science books, a race car bed, an alarm clock on the nightstand next to a Netwon's Cradle, and on his desk, an Apple computer and a microscope._

"Look at all this stuff!" Ninten exclaimed in astonishment.

"My room is cool, isn't it?" said Lloyd.

"Where do I sleep?"

"What 'til you see this," says Lloyd.

_Lloyd pounds on the wall and a bed comes out._

"What is this?" Ninten asked.

"It's called a Murphy Bed! Cool, huh? This is for guests."

_Ninten and Lloyd get ready for bed and rest for the night. Meanwhile in Magicant, Queen Mary watches over Ninten with her crystal ball._

"Sleep well, Ninten."


	3. The Girl with PSI

_The morning sun came. As Ninten and Lloyd slept, Lloyd's clock rang, and he wakes up. He gets up and sits down at his desk to turn on his Apple Computer._

"GOOD MORNING, LLOYD."

_Lloyd types something into his computer, presses the enter key, and grinned._

"Hey Ninten, come look at this!"

_Ninten wakes up with a groggy feeling._

"What is it?"

"I just hacked into the school's computer and gave myself a sick day."

"Wow, cool!"

"And check this out."

_Lloyd opens his closet and brings out a robot that looks exactly like him._

"This is the Lloyd Mk. II. I made this because I had no friends. It's exactly like me, except a robot. It has rocket jets for flight and super strength."

"HELLO, I AM LLOYD. PENCIL ROCKETS ARE AMAZING."

"In hindsight, it probably needs some more work."

"Let's go, then, we have to get to Spookane, remember?"

"R-right. Lloyd Mk. II, I want you to cover for me while I'm gone, okay?"

"ROGER WILCO, MASTER LLOYD."

_The boys head off for the train station, packing their things such as food, sports drinks, and their personal possessions. On the way, they see a huge pile of rocks blocking the way._

"Oh no, I forgot about the avalanche that happened last week!" said Lloyd.

"What are we going to do?" said Ninten.

"If we go west, we'll find Duncan's Factory."

"Duncan's Factory?"

"The factory that opened last month and led to Sweet Little's shut-down. It's bigger, which means it probably makes more Pencil Rockets. And I think they might have a big one, so if we find it, we can use it to blow up the rocks."

"That's brilliant, Lloyd!"

_The boys trek west to Duncan's Factory. When they got there, a guard dog was on watch. The boys out run the dog and head inside the factory._

"Ninten, this place might be heavily guarded. Can you use your powers to locate the rocket?"

"Okay."

_Ninten concentrates with all his strength and sees that the rocket is on the top floor._

"Top floor. Let's go!"

_The boys ran through the factory, as they're being attacked by fireballs, robots, and Barbots. Lloyd launches Pencil Rocket after Pencil Rocket at the enemies chasing him and Ninten. After minutes of running, the boys made it to the top floor and to the rocket, but a freaky scientist named Dr. Distorto is not happy._

"You boys shouldn't be here. You both should be at school!"

Lloyd says one of the coolest one-liners in this chapter, which is, "Today is a sick day."

_After that awesome one-liner, Lloyd uses a gun that shoots out a strange sticky rope at Dr. Distorto, preventing him from stopping the boys. Lloyd then puts in the trajectory for the rocket and hits the big red button that fires it at the rubble on the railroad, demolishing it._

"Yes! We can go to Spookane! ... gee, d-did I just say that out loud?" said Lloyd.

"You boys just want to eliminate the rubble from the tracks? Well, I apologize, but to be honest, I don't remember what happened; I just blacked out before meeting you two. Here, take the Franklin Badge out of my pocket."

_Ninten checks Distorto's pocket, but is shocked to see it._

"What the? Blood?"

"No, that's a ketchup stain. I hope..."

_Ninten retrieves the Franklin Badge and gives it to Lloyd._

"This might help you as it helped me, Lloyd."

"Thanks, Ninten!"

_Ninten and Lloyd then hold hands as they prepare to leave._

"4TH DIMENSION SLIP!"

_The boys exit Duncan's Factory and end up at Union Station._

"Well here we are, Union Station," said Ninten.

_The boys go inside and go to the desk to get tickets._

"Hello, me and my friend are going to Spookane," said Ninten.

"I'm sorry, but the station at Spookane is under repairs today."

"Darn! I came all the way from Podunk for nothing!"

"Podunk? Well, I suggest that you and your friend head to the city of Reindeer. It has a nice atmosphere, and they sell Berry Tofu there."

"... I guess we're going to Reindeer, then."

_The boys got their tickets and boarded the train to Reindeer. They watched as they breezed across the tracks on a beautiful sunny day. By train, it took them an hour to get from Merrysville to Reindeer. To pass the time, Lloyd talks about the first 3 Superman movies, as well as The Quest For Peace. They both have seen all 4 movies, but Ninten isn't really that interested once Lloyd got to III. When they got to Reindeer Station, an old woman gets their attention._

"Excuse me boys, but by any chance, do you know this Ana girl?"

"No, ma'am, we don't," said Ninten.

"Well, she left her hat here at this train station. If you find her, please give it to her. She lives in Snowman."

_Ninten receives Ana's hat._

"Wow, this hat is pretty. This Ana girl must be upset to have lost it," said Ninten.

"I'd be the same way if I lost my glasses, because, well, I can't see without them," said Lloyd.

_The boys walk up to the desk to ask for tickets, this time, for Snowman._

"Two tickets to Snowman, please."

"It's really chilly in that town, boys, so I suggest that you both by some winter coats in Reindeer before you go."

"Okay."

_The boys arrive in Reindeer, and are amazed at the sights. They head to the department store and go inside. It turns out that it's a mall. The boys check out a store that sells food, and read the price on the Berry Tofu._

"$975? That's more expensive than that healing ointment people use these days!" Ninten said in shock.

"That's the city for you, Ninten," said Lloyd. "You get prime ribs once a week, but I get this stuff once a month."

"You get chicken and mashed potatoes once a week."

"Does it matter?"

_The boys then head to the clothes store and purchase winter coats. They cost $8 each, costing a total of $16. They then go back to the train station and purchase their tickets to Snowman. The boys board the train for a 2 hour trip. Once they got close, it started to get cold, so they put on their coats. After 2 hours on the train, the boys made it to Snowman. They boarded off the train and trek through the snow. Along the way, some Silver Wolves attacked!_

"Oh no! Silver Wolves!" Lloyd cried.

_The boys ran as fast as they could from the wolves._

"Ninten, use your PSI to get us out of here!"

"I can't! I'm out of power!"

"Aww, man, we're toast!"

_The boys tripped, and the Silver Wolves proceeded to attack them. It seems that Ninten's journey has come to an abrupt end, with his life cut short. Or is it?_

_PK BEAM ALPHA!_

_Out of the blue, a beam of light blasts the Silver Wolves away from the boys. The beam was shot by a shadowy figure. The angry Silver Wolves attacked, but the mysterious person strikes back._

"PK FIRE ALPHA!"

_The fiery attack hits the Silver Wolves, setting them on fire and causing them to retreat. The mysterious person then drags the boys' bodies off to somewhere safe._

* * *

><p><em>The boys wake up in a churchhouse and are greeted by a pretty girl with sapphire eyes and her blonde hair in two pigtails being tied by red ribbons._

"Oh, good, the both of you are all right! The Lord is on your side tonight. Those Silver Wolves would've killed you."

"Were you the one that saved us?" Ninten asked.

"I am, and I'm so happy to see you," the girl said.

"Huh?"

"You look like Ninten, the boy in my dream."

"Ninten? That's me!"

"Hallelujah! You've came to help me!"

"Are you Ana? I believe that this hat belongs to you."

_Ninten gives Ana her hat back._

"Oh thank you so much! I'll be right back!"

_Ana leaves the room. The pastor walks over to the boys._

"You boys don't believe how lucky you are to have met my daughter. On rare occasions, she would show great bravery, and she had it saving you two from the Silver Wolves."

"Does she have PSI, too?" Ninten asked.

"It appears that she does. But let me tell you about her. As the pastor, I would've announced her birth by ringing the bell. If the child was a boy, the bell would ring once. If it was a girl, the bell would ring twice. I rung it twice. Children everywhere called her Little Mother because she was the brightest and sweetest child in Snowman. We knew she had PSI when she subconciously saved frogs from being dissected. And to this day, everybody loves her."

"Amazing."

"She's like a hero to everyone!" said Lloyd.

"Well, how do I look, everyone?" Ana says as she shows her with her hat on and her pigtails lowered.

_Ninten just stared amazed._

"Papa, I want to go with Ninten and Lloyd and help save mama."

"I understand. Please be careful, Ana."

"I will."

_After everyone had some tasty stew for dinner, Ana joins Ninten and Lloyd on their journey as the trio head to the train station._

"We're off to Youngtown," said Ana. "Someone might know about mama's disappearance there.

_The kids go up to the counter._

"3 for Youngtown, please."

"Sorry, but the tracks leading to it are broken."

"Oh no. This isn't good at all!" cried Ana.

"Then, 3 for Spookane?"

"What luck, because the repairs at the Spookane station have been finished a few hours ago."

_The kids board the train to Spookane, which took an hour to get from Snowman. When they got there, it was like a ghost town._

"Just as I feared, there's no people around here!" Lloyd whimpered.

"I wish that the tracks in Youngtown weren't broken," Ana said sadly.

"Let's look for a place to stay for the night," Ninten suggested.

_The kids find a hotel and go inside. The worker was dressed in grey._

"Welcome to Spookane Hotel It's $6 per person for a night. Care to stay?"

"Yes, please," said Ninten.

"Enjoy your stay."

_As the kids slept, Queen Mary contacts Ninten in his dream._

"Ninten... the next melody is in Rosemary Manor in the east part of Spookane. Search for the piano in the Manor..."

"I understand."

"Ninten... Ninten..."

_Lloyd and Ana try to wake Ninten up._

"Ninten! Ninten! Wake up!" they both shouted.

_Ninten wakes up._

"It's morning. Do you want room service?" Lloyd asked.

"Okay."

_The kids order room service before they go. After breakfast, they leave, but are stopped by the worker._

"Did we enjoy our stay?"

"Um..."

"If so, then... DIE!"

_The worker turns out to be a silver-clad spaceman._

"I am a Starman. We've been sent by our master Gyiyg to stop you."

"Try to stop us! Lloyd, Ana, get ready!"

_After a quick but intense battle, the kids managed to defeat the Starman._

"Here, Ana, you might need this Franklin Badge more than me," said Lloyd as he hands Ana his Franklin Badge.

"What does it do?"

"It deflects death rays," Ninten explained.

"Thanks, guys."

_The trio browsed around Spookane and headed east to the residential area. The residents were outside and looked scared._

"What's wrong?" Ninten queried.

A woman walks up to the kids and says, "Monsters and ghosts have been haunting our homes since the family moved in to Rosemary Manor."

"We happen to be going to Rosemary Manor."

"Really? Oh good. Here, take this key."

_Ninten receives the key, and the kids head to Rosemary Manor. Ninten unlocks the door and they go inside._

"I don't know about this, Ninten," Lloyd said with fear in his trembling voice.

"I can feel the presence of evil spirits in this place," said Ana, also scared. "If all the power from the evil were combined, it would be the equivalent of that of Satan!"

"Come on, guys, we got this far! We can't give up because things are scary!" Ninten said.

"Why not?" Lloyd queried.

"Because if the Ghostbusters gave up when the giant marshmallow man was summoned, all of New York would be doomed, and that isn't good! So, Ana, get your bible ready for protection!"

"Good idea!" said Ana.

"And Lloyd, keep your cool!"

"Okay..." Lloyd said.

_A mouse scurries up to the kids, and Ninten and Ana use their Telepathy._

"What brings you kids here?"

"We're searching for a piano," said Ninten.

"It's all the way in the basement. But can you survive the ghost and ghouls in this house? Hee hee hee..."

"Well, off to the basement."

"The basement? Mice can't talk, guys!" said Lloyd.

"They can if you have Telepathy!"

_The kids open the door and head to the basement. As they head down the stairs, unfamiliar voices fills the air._

"You shouldn't be here, you brats."

"It would be foolish to go downstairs."

"This is your worst ninghtmare. You cannot get away!"

"Ninten?" Lloyd shivered.

"Don't listen to them; we're going to the basement!"

_As the kids enter the basement from the door, Lloyd shivers in fear, while Ana reads a few verses from her bible. Only a few mere inches away from the piano, they're suddenly attacked by ghosts! Ana builds up her confidence immediately._

"Ninten, Lloyd, cover me! I'll take care of these ghosts!"

"I guess that bible of hers must have given her courage!" Ninten exclaimed.

"PK FIRE ALPHA!"

_The ghosts get singed by the flames. Angered, they fly into a couple of suits of armor, possessing them to attack the kids!_

"PK DARKNESS!"

_Ana blinds both of the possessed armor as they stumble around aimlessly. She then rushes to play the piano. She plays Beethoven's "Fur Elise" on the piano, which calms the ghosts down. When she was finished, she pauses for a break, and... The piano began to play all by itself. Ninten gets the melody stuck in his head._

"Ana, I can't believe how brave you've gotten since we met, and it's only been a day!" said Ninten.

"And I'm really good at the piano, but I usually practice with Mozart's pieces rather than Beethoven's," Ana said with a blush.

"I've noticed," said Lloyd. "And a nice rendition of Beethoven's Fur Elise."

"Thank you. Now, let's get out of here."

_The kids leave Rosemary Manor to be greeted by cheering citizens. They treated the trio to a lunch banquet. Afterwards, they leave and take the train back to Snowman, where the kids spend the rest of the day and all night at Ana's house to sleep._


	4. The Dragon in the Maze

_"Ninten... Ninten..."_

_Ninten finds himself in Queen Mary's throne room._

"Ninten, the next melody is in a cactus with a face in Yucca Desert, which is north of Youngtown, a town to the east of Merrysville," said Queen Mary. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, your majesty," Ninten answered.

"Ninten... Ninten..."

_Ninten wakes up to hear Ana's voice._

"Ninten! Wake up, I made breakfast!"

_Ana made everybody some waffles with syrup. After breakfast, the kids go to the train station and depart for Merrysville. It took 3 hours to get there from Snowman by train, but after that amount of time has passed, they arrived at the Union Station, where they ask about the train to Youngtown._

"Sorry kids, but the tracks to Youngtown are still broken. We're trying to fix them, but we keep getting attacked by animals."

_The kids walk out of Union Station with their heads lowered._

"How are we going to get to Youngtown now?" said Ana.

"We could try walking there," Ninten suggested.

"Ninten, that's a dangerous and stupid idea!" said Lloyd. "Let's do it."

_The kids walk along the train tracks and eventually come across a dead end where the tracks, and the bridge, were both indeed out._

"Woah, they were right," said Lloyd. "There's no way to get to Youngtown!"

"This cannot be..." Ana says in tearful disbelief as she drops to her knees. "What'll we do?"

"Well, I believe we should go northeast," Ninten suggested. "Great-grandpa's map shows us where to go next."

_So, they headed north, then east, where they find Yucca Desert and travel through it. As they trek, Lloyd trips over something. That something was a scorpion!_

"Lloyd, quick, get up!" Ninten cried. "There's a scorpion right next to you!"

_Lloyd gets up, but the scorpion stings him on the leg!_

"Ow! Oh no! I've been poisoned! Go on without me!"

"No way, dude! We can't leave you behind!"

_Just then, Ana feels a surge of power coursing through her body, and walks over to the ailing Lloyd. She tries to heal him with her PSI._

"I'm... I'm better!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Thanks, Ana!"

_But just then, a strange, spotted animal approached them._

"Gabilan!" the creature cried out.

_The kids run away from the Gabilan chasing after them._

"Back home in Snowman, we had Bigfoots! Are these Gabilans from around here?" said Ana.

"No!" Lloyd cried. "I don't know where this thing came from!"

"It must be related to whatever Gyiyg is!" Ninten exclaimed.

_They manage to out-run the Gabilan, but they come across a blue fembot._

"I AM JANE. PREPARE TO BE ASSIMILATED."

"Assimilated?" Ninten said in confusion.

"She wants to kill us!" cried Lloyd.

_Jane charges up her powers, but the kids have already started running away._

"INITIATING PK FREEZE GAMMA.''

_Jane hovers after them, launching PK Freeze Gamma left and right. But just then, an old war plane flies from out of the blue, and shoots at the fembot. It doesn't work._

"The plane pilot couldn't stop her. But I'll try!" Ana declared. "Maybe I have that attack she possesses. It's worth a shot! PK FREEZE GAMMA!"

_And lo and behold, Ana DOES have PK Freeze Gamma! Jane was starting to weaken after being hit with the icy attack. And with one last bullet from the plane's gun, she explodes. The plane then flies off somewhere with the kids following it. The plane lands on a fertile patch of land where a tent was set up. The pilot was an elderly man._

"You kids need to be careful out here!"

"Thank you for helping us fight off that robot, mister!" said Ninten.

"It's no trouble."

"That plane is awesome! Can we have it?" Lloyd asks.

"No sirree, sonny! But, you can have my tank!"

"You have a tank? Cool!"

"Not so fast! You can't have that for free."

"But we almost died out here, and I know everything about mechanical marvels like these!"

"You look like one of those comic book nerds to me."

"I'm both! I really love anything related to Superman! Comics, T.V. shows, movies, anything!"

"Seriously, he told me an earful about the movies," said Ninten.

"All right, all right, but you'll need to buy 10 tickets from me. That's 3 rides in this plane with me and one-third. Want to ride?"

"YES PLEASE!" The kids cried in unison.

_The kids go for a ride around the country, and are amazed by the view. After 3 rides, Ninten heads over to the cacti-laden area northwest from the oasis and searches for the cactus with a face on it. He manages to find it and hears a voice speaking into his mind. He uses Telepathy on the cactus, and... it sang. Ninten heard it, remembered it, and ran back to his friends. Meanwhile, Ana watches Lloyd have another go, and after all of that, they've gotten 10 ticket stubs._

"Great! I see you saved 10 stubs. Take my tank."

"Hooray!"

_The kids get inside the tank. Ninten and Ana are confused about what to do._

"You two are lucky that I am here to steer this baby," said Lloyd. "Where should we go?"

"I think we should go to those ruins we flew over earlier," Ninten suggested.

"Aye, aye, Ninten!"

_Lloyd steers the tank to the northeast corner of Yucca Desert. It went through a mile-long canyon until it finally reaches the northeast corner. Just a few mere yards away from reaching the ruins, the tank was stopped by a giant robot._

"R7037 FORBIDS ALL WHO COME TO THIS AREA. PREPARE TO BE TERMINATED WHERE YOU STAND."

"We're dead," said Ninten.

"No we're not!" said Lloyd. "This tank has the ability to deflect all attacks!"

"Let's give it a shot!" said Ana.

_R7037 attacks the tank, but the tank bounces the attack back at the robot. In-between bouncing back the attack, the kids fire the cannon at the giant robot, and in the end, both the robot and the tank explode. The kids are thrust down into the ruins, but landed somewhere safe. Conveniently, they see another big pink conch with "XX" engraved on it._

"Wow, that was lucky!" said Ninten.

"What is that thing?" said Lloyd.

"It's the entrance to Magicant."

"I remember seeing that in my dream!" said Ana.

_The trio touch the giant conch and end up back in Magicant._

"Holy cow!" Lloyd said in amazement.

_The cat swims up to the kids._

"Welcome back, Ninten! I see you brought friends! Here, for the boy, some Magic Candy."

_The cat gives Lloyd a bag of Magic Candy._

"What will this do?" Lloyd asks.

"It'll boost your fighting spirit five-fold. And for the girl, I give you a Magic Ribbon, which will increase your PSI powers in battle five-fold."

_Ana receives the Magic Ribbon. She then takes her hat off and gives it to Ninten. Then she takes off her old ribbons to let down her hair._

"Ninten, be an angel and braid my hair with the Magic Ribbon, please?"

"Sure thing!"

_Ninten ties Ana's hair in a single braid with the Magic Ribbon. Ana then puts her hat back on._

"How do I look?" Ana queries.

"You look, um... you look..." Ninten tried to come up with a good answer. "Well, you look... more mature."

"Oh, well... thank you!" Ana replied with a smile.

"Hold on a sec, don't you have something for Ninten?" Lloyd asks the cat.

"Only this: Ninten, Queen Mary wants to see the 3 of you now."

* * *

><p><em>The kids are now in Queen Mary's castle, heading to her throne room. Lloyd and Ana couldn't believe their eyes.<em>

"I've got to be honest, Ninten. When you meant that you're helping a queen, I didn't expect the queen of a mystical otherworldly dimension!" said Lloyd.

"What did you think I meant, Lloyd?" said Ninten.

"A queen from somewhere in Europe? Like England or France?"

"But I don't think you'd believe me if I said Magicant. Even I didn't believe it when I first came here."

"But it's so beautiful!" said Ana. "It's just like in my dream!"

_The kids have reached the throne room and presented themselves before Queen Mary._

"Welcome back, Ninten." the queen greeted.

"Queen Mary, these are my new friends, Lloyd and Ana."

"I see. Do you two know why you're both following Ninten on this adventure?"

"I've went with him to search for my mama," Ana answered.

"Yes, I know. And Lloyd, what's your purpose?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Well, something tells me that people have called you 'weak'".

"Y-yes..."

"You want to be more like Superman..."

"Yes!"

"Well, the swimming cat gave you the Magic Candy for a reason. And Ana, that same reason goes for why you now possess the Magic Ribbon."

_The kids exchange confused glances._

"Maybe I should tell you 3 right now: the next melody can be obtained from the dragon deep within the maze. Ninten, at this point, you would have been able to sense a powerful energy in Magicant. Can you sense it now?"

"Y... yes! I can feel it! It's huge!"

"That is the dragon itself. Head to the maze, you three, and Lloyd, along the way, I suggest you eat the Candy."

"Okay," said Lloyd.

* * *

><p><em>Before they could proceed, they went to the Flying Men's house.<em>

"Hello Ninten! I've see you've brought friends. Come in!"

_The trio step inside the house._

"Bad news, I'm afraid. #1 died fighting off the monsters in the maze. We've set up a grave for him outside."

_The kids and the remaining Flying Men are now standing in front of Flying Man #1's grave._

"Don't blame yourself, Ninten. The monsters in the maze are rather overprotective of their territory and disregard the safety of trespassers, but you have a job to do, and we will gladly escort you to the well."

_The Flying Men carry the kids to the well._

"I, Flying Man #2, will gladly join you now."

_As the group heads down the well that leads to the maze, Lloyd began eating out of the bag of Magic Candy._

"We're getting closer now..." Ninten said softly.

_Lloyd and Ana follow Ninten as he gets closer and closer to the dragon._

"Bleh, my stomach hurts. How much of this Magic Candy can I possibly eat?" said Lloyd.

"How much is left?" Ninten asks.

"Just this one piece. But if I eat the last one, I might puke..."

"Do you feel any stronger?" #2 asks.

"I... I suppose."

"Good enough. Save that last piece in case of an emergency."

_At last, Ninten and the others found the dragon, asleep in the center of the maze. It's eyes sprang open the moment Ninten stepped forward and attacked by breathing fire. The group avoided the attack._

"Wow, this dragon means business, guys!" Ninten cried.

Ana said, "I better raise our defenses! PSI SHIELD BETA!"

_Ana's PSI creates transparent, semi-visible barriers around herself and the others. The dragon shoots another breath of fire, but it had no effect on the four thanks to the PSI Shield._

"Now's our chance! Attack!" Ninten cried.

_Ninten charges and hits the dragon on the head with his baseball bat, while Flying Man #2 attacked with a high-speed punch. It just made the beast angrier, so it swatted Ninten away and ate FM #2._

"Oh no, #2's dragon chow!" Ninten cried.

_Lloyd has started launching Pencil Rockets at the dragon, which barely phases it._

"The Pencil Rockets aren't working!" said Lloyd.

"Let me try something!" said Ana. "PK BEAM BETA!"

_Ana's PK Beam Beta did better on the dragon than the other attacks, managing to make the dragon fall to the ground. The group cheered, thinking they've one, but the dragon gets back up._

"The dragon's too strong!" said Ninten.

_Lloyd, frightened by the situation, looks around and finds a sword. He runs over to it, picks it up, and tries to throw it at the dragon to pierce its hide, but... the sword only landed several yards from Lloyd._

"I... I couldn't..." Lloyd muttered in disbelief. "NINTEN! Take the Sword!"

"Sword?"

_Ninten runs over to the sword and picks it up._

"I... I don't know if I should use something like this as a weapon, Lloyd! I'm keeping the secret about playing the guitar from Mom; just imagine how she'll feel if she hears about me carrying around a sword!"

"Just slash away at the dragon!"

_Ninten shrugs and charges at the dragon with the sword. He tries to hack at the dragon and manages to inflict a great amount of damage. The dragon spits out Flying Man #2, and recoils and whimpers from the pain. Ninten sees this and drops the sword._

"Guys, we have to stop fighting! The dragon seems to be hurting badly!" said Ana.

Ninten hesitantly responds, "Right."

_Ninten and Ana use Telepathy on the dragon._

"Mr. Dragon, we just wanted to hear your melody," said Ana. "We're sorry for fighting back. Let us heal you."

_Ninten and Ana place their hands on the dragon and shout this spell in unison._

"PK LIFEUP!"

_The combined PK LifeUp heals the dragon. It then kindly sings a gentle tune that Ninten will from then on memorize._

"You guys..." #2 moaned weakly.

_Flying Man #2 had burns from the dragon's stomach acid and looked like he was about to die._

"What's wrong, #2?" said Ninten.

"The dragon's stomach was highly acidic, and the fumes were filled with toxicity... I almost died..."

_With those last words, Flying Man #2 died, and disappeared before the kids' eyes._

"Sorry, #2..." Ninten said softly to himself with a tear down his face.

* * *

><p><em>Queen Mary contacts Ninten telepathically just as he and the other two head for the exit.<em>

"Ninten, I am proud of you, Lloyd, and Ana. You showed some mercy and got a melody in return."

"Thanks, Queen Mary. Where can we find the next melody?"

"Something tells me that it's somewhere on Mt. Itoi, but I can't remember where... Good luck to you all..."

"Well guys, we're going to Mt. Itoi to find the next melody!"

"Mt. Itoi? It's just beyond Youngtown!" said Ana. "I just hope that we can get there."

_The trio make it to the exit and end up in another cave. They get out of the cave and see a nearby sign. They go up to the sign and read it._

"Youngtown: 3 miles." Ninten read.

_The kids turn around and see the railroad tracks leading to the town, and walk along them. Ninten and his friends have gotten 6 of the 8 Melodies, and there are only 2 left to go. What could they be for? And what will they expect when they get to Youngtown?_


	5. Tonight Is What It Means To Be Youngtown

_At Queen Mary's castle, she observes Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana from her crystal ball. She sees them walking along the train tracks leading to Youngtown Station._

"Ninten, you're almost done with your quest. Just 2 more melodies..."

_Back on the railroad tracks, the kids have been walking for a while, singing a little ditty called "Bein' Friends"._

"When you are happy, with laughter to spare," Ninten sang.

"Fun is twice as fun with someone to share," Ana sang.

"When you are lonely and full of despair,"

"Things aren't half as bad when somebody cares,"

"Maybe now you have figured it out... that's what bein' a friend is about!" Lloyd sang.

"When you're lookin' for a shoulder you can cry on, won't you think about me? When you're lookin' for someone you can rely on, don't you ever doubt me, I'll be there someway, somehow, that's what bein' friends is about!" they sang together.

_As they sang, they eventually make it to Youngtown Station._

"We made it, guys!" Ana exclaimed. "Let's keep on going!"

_The kids make it to the town's gate, where they're stopped by a child bawling his eyes out._

"H-halt! Who goes there?" the boy sobbed.

"What's the matter, kid?" Ninten asked.

"One minute, our parents were around, and the next, a huge spaceship came by and abducted them all. Our parents told us to hide somewhere safe, and now, us kids are the only ones left!"

"That's what happened to my mom back in Snowman!" Ana exclaimed.

"You're mom's gone, too?"

"Uh-huh. I'm accompanying Ninten and Lloyd to help me find them."

"Ninten, Lloyd, were your parents abducted, too?"

"Nope," said Ninten. "My mom's at home with my sisters and my dog, and my dad's working."

"And my mom's at home, too," said Lloyd. "I don't know what happened to my dad, though..."

"I dreamt that if we came here, we'd find someone named... Garrickson? Where is his residence?"

"In the west part of town."

"Thank you."

_The trio heads to the west part of Youngtown, in part of the suburbs. They found a house with a mailbox that says "Garrickson" on it. They go up to the door and ring the doorbell. A man named Tom Garrickson answers the door._

"Hello?"

"Are you Mr. Tom Garrickson?" Ana asks.

"That depends. Are you the kids that people across the country have been speaking of?"

"Yes we are," the kids answered together.

"Come inside."

_The kids step inside the house, but Tom stops them._

"Hold it! Were you all raised in a barn? Take off your shoes or else you'll track dirt!"

_The kids take off their shoes and sit on the couch._

"I'm so glad you 3 are here. I would like for you to meet my two kids: Janine, age 12, and little Tom Jr., 8 months old."

Janine, holding Jr., says, "Hi Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana. Before she was abducted with all the others, mom told me that Tom Jr. had psychic powers."

"Can I hold him?" Ana asks. "I love babies!"

"Sure!"

_Janine gives Tom Jr. to Ana to hold. Ana then starts to hear a young voice calling out to her. She uses Telepathy to find that it's coming from the baby. The two of them have a psychic conversation that only Ninten seems to notice as he observes._

"Ana, this is Tom Jr. I may be a baby on the outside, but on the inside, I have the mind of an adult. And just like you and Ninten, I possess psychic abilities. I can teach the two of you a special ability in an instant with the blink of my eyes."

_Tom Jr. blinks his eyes, and Ninten and Ana realize a new power._

"Ana, I think the baby did something," said Ninten.

"He did, Ninten. We've learned a new power from him."

"Well kids, it's getting late. One of the neighborhood kids turned his house into an inn where people spend the night for free, so why not rest there for the night?"

"But can't we stay for a hot meal?" Ninten asks.

"Sorry Ninten, but there's only enough food to feed my kids at the moment, since my wife was abducted and all. Good luck to you all."

_The kids leave the Garricksons' house._

"Boy, I am so hungry. I doubt that the kid at his house could cook," Lloyd moans.

"Don't worry, Lloyd," said Ninten. "Ana and I learned a little thing called Teleport. And good timing, because mom's making prime ribs tonight!"

"She is? Count me in!"

"Ready, Ninten? Ready, Lloyd?" said Ana.

"Ready, Ana!"

Together, they said, "PK TELEPORT!"

_The kids ran in a linear formation with Ninten in front and Lloyd in the back. They ran faster and faster, and when they managed to run at 88 mph, they've initiated Teleport, and left fiery tracks Back to the Future style._

* * *

><p><em>The kids arrive back in Podunk at Ninten's house.<em>

"Well, we're home!" said Ninten.

"Wow, what a quaint and cozy little house," Ana said.

_They knock on the door and Ninten's mother answers._

"Yes? Oh, Ninten! Back so soon? Did you finish your quest?"

"Not yet. Have any animals gone crazy recently while I was gone?"

"Well, some crows tried to attack Mick this morning, but luckily, I had my frying pan. Say, are you and your new friends hungry? I made prime ribs."

_The kids sat down at the table and ate dinner. Ninten seems to be enjoying it._

"Wow Ninten, you're really pigging out on those ribs," said Lloyd. "I'll be honest, it's not my mom's chicken and mashed potatoes, but it's up there with it."

"Same with my mom's broiled cod," Ana added.

"Well, I'm glad that my prime ribs are the runner-up for favorite dinner, Lloyd, Ana. So, are you two staying for the night?"

"No mom, we're heading back to Youngtown, which we just got back from," said Ninten.

"Youngtown? But it's far away; how did you two get back from there to Podunk so fast?"

"We learned Teleport from a baby with PSI."

"The Garrickson baby? Oh, okay. It was nice of you to drop by, Ninten. I love you, son."

"Me too, mom."

_After Ninten hugs his mother goodbye, the kids Teleport back to Youngtown and take a rest at a house with a sign that says "JACK" out front._

"Hi, I'm Jake Jackson. My dad, Jack Jackson was abducted, so I've converted my house into an inn for people that come by. Feel free to stay here tonight."

"How much should we pay?" Ninten asks.

"No need to pay; you're all staying for free!"

* * *

><p><em>The night passed and morning came. Ninten and friends are awakened by Jake, who brought 4 bowls of Cheerios for them all to eat.<em>

"Guys! Wake up! I made breakf-"

_Jake stops and sees Ninten holding his stuffed penguin, and goes back into the kitchen to put the cereal on the table, then comes back in with an expression that looks like he's about to laugh really hard._

"Don't laugh," said Ninten in a serious tone.

"Laugh? Why would I laugh? I love penguins, too!"

"They're amazing creatures, aren't they?"

"Yeah! Now then, hurry up and go to the kitchen before our Cheerios get soggy!"

"Jake? Thank you for the Cheerios, but I can cook," said Ana.

"Can you make bacon and eggs?"

"How about waffles?"

_After a breakfast of Cheerios and waffles, Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana leave and head east. They're stopped by a kid standing on the bridge._

"Wait a minute, where are you going? There's monsters in that swamp!"

"We're heading to Mt. Itoi," said Ninten.

"Why?"

"Because my dad got lost somewhere near it," said Lloyd.

"You too? Go ahead."

_Ninten and his friends cross the bridge and enter the woods._

"Lloyd, why did you lie?" Ana asks.

"I'm not sure if I am, Ana. My dad got lost in the woods shortly before I met Ninten."

"Well, we'll find him," said Ninten. "Even if it takes us all day to-"

_The kids stop at a house with a shaking trash can._

"Lloyd, is that your dad?"

"Yes."

_Lloyd peeks inside the trash can._

"Dad?"

"Lloyd, is that you son?"

"Yeah, it's me. I made new friends, Ninten and Ana. Here's a recent snapshot of us when we went to Spookane."

"That's nice. I'm so happy that you've finally got friends. Ninten, Ana?"

"Yes?" Ninten and Ana said in unison.

"Please look after Lloyd. He is a real weakling."

"Dad! I'm not weak anymore! I'm a big boy now, and I will help my friends!"

"Sorry. Where are you 3 going, anyway?"

"To Mt. Itoi."

"Mt. Itoi? That's dangerous! Why on Earth would you kids go there anyway?"

"Because a queen from another land told us to."

"Oh, well, be careful, though, all of you."

"Okay," the kids responded.

* * *

><p><em>The kids start wading carefully through the sticky, slimy swamp. Lloyd tries to keep cool. As they cross the swamp, a hungry crocodile moves closer to them with each step. It only took the kids half-way to notice the reptile.<em>

"CROCODILE!" they cried out.

"Hurry, take a hand!" Ninten commanded.

_Lloyd takes one of Ninten's hands, while Ana takes the other._

"4TH DIMENSION SLIP!"

_The kids fly off over the swamp and towards their destination when they see another fembot in the sky._

"I AM CAROLINE. INITIATING DARKNESS."

_Caroline blinds Ninten with Darkness._

"Guys... I'M BLIND!" Ninten shrieked.

_Because of Ninten's newly-acquired blindness, the kids fall from the sky. Ana uses PSI Shield on everyone, greatly cushioning them from the fall. Caroline divebombs at the kids, but Ana takes the initiative._

"PK FREEZE GAMMA!"

_Caroline is severely weakened, and can barely move her limbs as she descends faster than before. Lloyd takes the initiative by launching a Pencil Rocket, and blows her up. The kids continue onward to Mt. Itoi..._


	6. Ellay Brawl

_Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana were still traveling through the woods._

"Well, according to the map, we're almost to Ellay, which is between here and Mt. Itoi," said Ninten.

"Oh good," said Ana. "The swamp was so icky!"

"Wait, Ninten, did you say Ellay?" Lloyd asks. "Didn't you watch the news? The Black Blood Gang is practically ruling the city!"

"Tch, no gang will stop us, Lloyd! We can beat 'em with PSI and Pencil Rockets!"

"That's so reckless!"

_Finally, they have arrived in Ellay. The city was huge and looked a lot like the dirty underbelly of New York City. Ninten and Ana nonchalantly walk through the city with a shivering Lloyd, when they're attacked by one of the Black Blood gang members!_

"Hey what are you doing walkin' around Ellay? You brats should be in school!"

"Who are you calling brat?" Ninten replied.

"Listen shrimp, you and your little baby friends get outta here or I call in reinforcements! It's my way or the freakin' highway, do you understand?"

"You and what army?"

"Oh, you asked for it!"

_The B.B. gang member whistled and brought 29 more members over._

"Ninten, we can't take on 30 gang members all at once!" Lloyd cried.

"You think that's bad, four-eyes? Wait until our leader Teddy shows up! He should be here any minute!"

"Not if we fight back first!" said Ninten. "Let's get 'em!"

_Ninten takes on the B.B. Gang with only his baseball bat. Lloyd and Ana could only watch because they aren't quick to fight like their friend is. But then, two members grab them!_

"Put me down!" Lloyd cried.

"Ninten, help us!" Ana cried.

"Sorry guys, but they've got me, too!" Ninten cried as he was dog-piled by the other 20+ members.

"Playtime's over, punks!"

_As Lloyd tried to get out of a member's grasp, he manages to kick him... but since it's a KID'S fic, we aren't telling you where, but when you're older, you'll get it. And Ana uses PK Freeze Gamma on her captor._

"My body! I feel so cold... and numb..." the freezing member said.

"Here, let me warm you and your friends up!" said Ana. "PK FIRE GAMMA!"

_Ana unleashes a fiery blast at all of the gang members, setting their butts on fire in the process. The B.B. Gang runs off screaming as their rumps were being roasted. After the battle, the kids continue through the city, where the people were stunned to have seen them take on the Black Blood Gang and win._

"Those kids BEAT the Black Blood Gang? Impossible!"

"Well, one of them IS the famous Ana from Snowman!"

"And Ninten, too! Them, I understand, but their wimpy friend can't fight his way out of a paper bag!"

"Yeah, what was his name?"

"I think it was Louis."

_As the kids walk by, they feel different emotions. Ninten feels proud, Ana feels bashful, and Lloyd felt bad._

"Can you believe that we toppled a gang?" said Ninten.

"I can't believe that I torched their behinds," said a blushing Ana.

"I believe that I suck..." Lloyd said.

"Lloyd, you don't suck!" said Ninten.

"Ninten's right! You're a great friend!" Ana added.

"A great friend who trashed my tank!" an old voice said.

_The voice came from the veteran from Yucca Desert._

"Oh sorry about that sir," said Lloyd. "You see, there was this giant robot that attacked us and-"

"No harm, no foul. Now, as a treat, I'll take you 3 to the Live Show. I have 4 tickets."

"Okay!" the kids said in unison.

_The kids and the veteran head inside the Live House, a pumpin', jumpin', jivin' club._

"Do you 4 have tickets?" the woman asked.

"Here they are," said the veteran as he and the others flashed the tickets.

"Enjoy the show!"

_The group sits down when the owner walks up on stage._

"All right, everybody! Are you all enjoying yourselves?" the owner asked the audience.

"YEAH!" the crowd cheered.

"Now, for the next song, it's karaoke time, so, who wants to volunteer?"

_The crowd was clamoring like crazy until the man picks his volunteers._

"Hey, you kids! Do you 3 want to come up on stage and sing?"

"I don't see why not!" Ninten answered.

"Karaoke night?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!" said Ana.

"Have fun," said the veteran.

_The kids walk up on stage._

"Go ahead and jam, little dudes!" the owner said.

_A song begins to play. The song was "All That I Needed (Was You)". The kids start their musical number by having their backs shown as they turn around to face the crowd._

"I used to think I was so smart, but I couldn't hide the hole in my heart, sad as it seems, none of my dreams, ever come true..." sang Lloyd.

"I used to walk the avenue, all by myself with nothin' to do, kickin' at cans, half of a man, 'till I met you, and I knew..." sang Ninten. "I've looked for you all of my life, 'round every corner, wishin' on stars like some kind of fool, oh oh"

"But now I see the stars in your eyes, those days are over, I took one look and I was hooked, I found heaven in you!" Ninten and Ana sang in unison.

"And thought my dream was overdue, my prayer was answered out of the blue," Ana sang.

"And now I know. I know it's true, All that I needed was you!" all three of them sang together.

_The audience cheers, but the party is crashed by a large, muscular guy with black hair, a red shirt, yellow pants, and red shades._

"Oh crap! It's Teddy!"

"Quick, duck and cover!"

_The people hide under their tables and watch what was happening. Teddy just walks up onto the stage and confronts the kids._

"Uh-oh, Teddy must have a bone to pick with these children..." someone whispered.

"I've heard that they beat up the Black Blood gang!" another one whispered.

_Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana could only stare as the towering Teddy, who is twice their respective sizes, glares down at them through his shades._

"My gang told me that you three little shrimps beat them up and set them on fire," Teddy said in an intimidating voice. "You! The girl! They said you were the one that burnt them!"

"Hey pal, leave Ana alone!" Ninten spoke up.

"Oh, don't worry. I would never hit a girl. But I would hit you two!"

"Bye!" Lloyd said as he sprinted off the stage to go hide with the others.

"Looks like it's just you and me, bandana boy!"

"Take your best shot, you big, dirty ape!" said Ninten.

"You asked for it!"

_Teddy punches Ninten, knocking him to the floor._

"No! Ninten!" Lloyd and Ana cried out.

_Ninten gets up, charges at Teddy, and hits him with his baseball bat. It didn't phase Teddy at all._

"C'mon, you gotta try harder than that!" Teddy boasted.

_Ninten struck at Teddy repeatedly with his baseball bat, and after several blows, he hits Teddy on the head, knocking him out cold._

* * *

><p><em>Teddy comes to and sees Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana standing over him.<em>

"Oh my aching head... I can't believe it. Beaten by a 12-year-old pipsqueak with a baseball bat. My reputation as the leader of the Black Blood gang is RUINED!"

"Um, Mr. Teddy, sir?" Ana spoke. "You don't need to start a gang to live your life."

"... You know what, little girl?"

"Yes?"

"... You're right. Something tells me that you kids might prove a better influence on me that that gang. From now on, the Black Blood gang is dead."

"Good for you, Teddy," the owner said. "You see kids, he recently lost his parents when the two of them went to Mt. Itoi."

"Yeah, and I want to avenge them!"

"We happen to be going to Mt. Itoi," said Ninten.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hold your horses!" the veteran said as he walks up onto the stage. "One of you has to work to pay off the damages to my tank!"

"I'll do it," said Lloyd.

"We're going to miss you, Lloyd," said Ninten.

"Don't worry about me. Teddy's tough, so he might be able to help you guys beat Gyiyg."

"Huh. You know, little nerdy guy? I think this Gyiyg chump might be the one responsible for killing my parents."

"And might have caused the poltergeist to attack my house," said Ninten.

"Lloyd, we won't forget you, okay?" said Ana as she hugs Lloyd.

"Ah-ah-ah, no hug, please!" said Lloyd.

"Sorry."

"But if it was mom doing the hugging, that's another story. Well, bye, guys."

_Ninten, Ana, and Teddy walk off into the sunset while Lloyd and the veteran stay behind._

"There they go," said Lloyd sadly. "So, how did you get all the way from Yucca Desert to here?"

"The tank, boy. Luckily I got here right before she broke down."

_The tank was in plain sight, reduced to a smoking heap._

"Hmm... you know what I should do instead of pay off the damages? Fix them myself!"

"How can a young whippersnapper like you fix a big machine like that?"

"You'll see..."


	7. Mt Itoi

_Ellay, morning. The sun rose over the city. In an apartment complex, one room had no sunlight seeping through because the curtains were left shut... by Teddy, who has been up for a while and has lit a cigarette. The smoke wakes up Ninten and Ana on the couch, making Ninten believe that the apartment was on fire._

"Smoke... smoke! The apartment's on fire!" Ninten cried.

"No, Ninten, Teddy lit a cigarette," said Ana. "And I'm not too happy about that, either."

_Teddy comes out of his room, still smoking his cigarette._

"Good morning, squirts!"

"Teddy, are you smoking?" Ana scolded.

"Have been since I was 10."

"Oh boy, I hope the Lord goes easy on you."

"Don't worry, Ana, I'm still in good shape! I was MUCH taller than all of the other boys in Ellay, even when I switched from chocolate cigarettes to real ones! Now, enough talk, let's go to Mt. Itoi!"

"What about breakfast?" Ninten queried.

_Teddy presented a bag from a fast-food restaurant._

"Hamburgers? For breakfast?"

"You have to get by somehow!"

_So, after having day-old hamburgers for... breakfast... they head to Mt. Itoi. Ninten and Ana weren't quite used to having Teddy around. While they were two 12-year-olds with PSI and sweet personalities, Teddy was a huge guy in his mid-teens that smoked and fought for fun. As they traveled with bags crammed with Sports Drinks (since beer was a no-no for a 12 year old and just as good for Teddy), the big guy clobbered every enemy that crossed their path, including animals such as buffaloes and seagulls._

"Teddy, that buffalo was innocent!" said Ana.

"It charged at us!" Teddy argues.

_Anyway, they climbed the mountain by following the path, and went through cavern after cavern until they were up at the plateau, where they see a scrapped and overturned truck._

"That's the truck my parents drove," said Teddy.

"Aww man, tragic," said Ninten.

"And this is one of those new trucks I've heard about," said Ana.

_As the trio look at the truck, a Grizzly Bear approached them. Teddy takes notice and punches it._

"Teddy!"

"Don't worry, it's a papa bear."

_The bear got angry and chased after the trio. They managed to get away._

"Teddy, you're too impulsive!" Ana scolded.

"That bear would've killed us!" Ninten added.

"Sor-RY!" said Teddy. "Geez, I can't help it! I was 5 when I first enjoyed rough-housing!"

"Well, you're gonna have to fight the urge than to just plain fight."

* * *

><p><em>The trio went higher on the plateau and come across a house. Teddy knocks on the door and an elderly man steps out.<em>

"Yes? Can I help you kids?"

"Hi. I'm here to avenge my parents, who died on this mountain," Teddy explains. "We need a place to stay for the night, so can we stay here?"

"Help yourselves!"

_The trio went inside and sat on the couch._

"Now, tell me about yourselves."

_Ninten got up and began to explain._

"Well, my name is Ninten, and I'm from Podunk. I have a mother, a father, two sisters, and a dog. I love baseball and penguins, and I have asthma, which is only triggered by automobile exhaust."

_Ana got up and explained herself._

"I'm Ana, and I came from Snowman. I was born on December 23rd. I play the piano, and I once saved frogs from being dissected."

Teddy gets up and says, "Ninten, Ana, you both might want to go into the other room. I don't want your little ears to be tainted with my... troubled past."

_Ninten and Ana leave the room and Teddy has his turn at explaining himself. But that didn't stop Ninten and Ana from eavesdropping._

"Wow, Teddy's history is so... sad," said Ninten.

"That explains so much about what happened to him," Ana added.

"Yeah."

"Hey Ninten?"

"Yeah?

"Please stay with me."

"Huh?"

"With my mama gone, I feel so alone. But with you by my side, I feel safe," Ana blushed.

"I... I see," Ninten blushed.

"Do you... want to dance with me?"

"Okay!"

_Ninten and Ana danced around the room. As they danced, the truth comes out. Ana loved Ninten, and Ninten realizes that he loved her, too. After over a minute of dancing, they paused._

"Ninten, do you love me?"

"I... I... YES! I do love you, Ana!"

_With that, Ninten and Ana kissed. While they did that, Teddy barges in._

"Oh, you two!"

_Ninten and Ana stopped kissing and blushed wildly._

"Why are you two blushing? Never mind, I sense something dangerous coming this way. Let's leave before it's..."

_Teddy was cut off by a huge thundering shake in the earth. The trio takes the initiative to exit the house, and see a huge blue robot outside._

"Wh-why does that robot seem so familiar?" said Ninten.

"R7038 SEEKING THOSE WHO WANT TO STOP GYIYG."

_The robot seeks and scans until it locks on Ninten, Ana, and Teddy._

"R7038 PREPARING TO TERMINATE TARGETS."

_R7038's fist flies towards the trio, who ran away, but Teddy gets crushed by the giant fist!_

"Teddy! No!" Ninten cried.

"Hold on, Teddy!" said Ana. "PK BEAM OMEGA!"

_Ana releases an extremely huge, powerful PK Beam at R7038... and... nothing happened!_

"That's impossible! It's my strongest attack!"

_Just as R7038 seems to have won... BOOM! The robot was completely scrapped. Who did this?_

"HEY, YOU GUYS!"

_It's Lloyd! He brought the tank up to Mt. Itoi just in time to save his friends... but what about Teddy?_

"Ninten, Ana, it's good to see you're both okay! But the question is... will Teddy be okay?"

_Teddy was badly bruised and bleeding a little. He tries to stand up, but collapses and loses consciousness._

* * *

><p><em>Later that night, everybody was back at the base of Mt. Itoi, in a small hospital house. Teddy was lying down on the bed, recovering from severe injuries.<em>

"Doc, is Teddy going to be okay?" Ninten asked the doctor.

"It doesn't look good. Normally, it would take a person months, maybe years, to heal completely from these injuries, if he's lucky."

"If?" Ana said with worry. "Do you mean...?"

_The doctor hung his head low. Lloyd gets up off of the couch and walks over to his friends._

"Ninten, Ana..."

"What is it, Lloyd?" Ana asked.

"Are you going to say something like, 'If only I had come sooner'?" Ninten asked.

"No... but I'll tell you what I really think if we go back into the other room."

_The kids go back into the other room._

"Ninten, Ana, did you guys want to know where I got the courage to come and save you guys?"

"Come to think of it, I do," said Ninten.

"Well..."

_Lloyd flashes back to this morning._

"I spent all night fixing the tank. But don't worry, I only sleep 3 hours a night. The old man from Yucca Desert was so amazed by my abilities that he let me keep the tank. And when I saw you three ascend Mt. Itoi, I followed you guys there. And the moment that giant robot showed up, I ate the last Magic Candy and headed right into battle, which ended quickly because I upgraded the cannon to give it lasers."

_The flashback ends._

"Wow Lloyd... THAT'S SO COOL!" Ninten cheered.

"You've finally came out of your wimpy shell and saved us!" said Ana. "Well, I can't say the same for Teddy."

_Ana sniffled a little and cries quietly into Ninten's chest._

"It's okay, Ana. Hope for the best for Teddy, okay?" Ninten said while comforting Ana.

"Okay, Ninten."

* * *

><p><em>The next morning at the crack of dawn, as Teddy rests, Ninten, Ana, and Lloyd, with their bags crammed with loaves of Bread, bottles of Sports Drinks, and some healing ointment from the doctor's inventory, which he had thousands of containers of, depart in Lloyd's tank and head back to the plateau of Mt. Itoi. Upon arrival, Lloyd scans for any threats. The tank senses that a powerful energy level is coming from higher up the mountain.<em>

"According to the monitor, there's a really strong energy source near the top of the mountain," said Lloyd.

"It must be Gyiyg!" Ninten assumes.

_The tank advances further until it reaches a dead end. What was there stopping them from going any further? A lake. Nearby, there was a dock and a motor boat._

"Hey, a boat! Lloyd, let's get out of the tank and cross the lake!"

_The kids get out of the tank and board the boat by the dock. They try to start it up, but it won't._

"Hold on a sec," said Lloyd as he gets out his tools. "Let me fix it... and..."

_Lloyd starts up the boat successfully after spending mere seconds fixing the engine._

"Wow Lloyd! You got it going!" said Ninten.

"That's how I fixed the tank!"

_The kids cross the lake for several yards. When they were halfway there, the boat starts to spin around._

"Lloyd, I thought you fixed it!" said Ninten.

"It's not me, Ninten! We're stuck in a whirlpool!"

"A whirlpool?" Ana cried.

"Uncanny, isn't it? And we're not even on the sea!"

_The whirlpool's force was so strong that it broke the boat! The kids were sucked into the whirlpool and end up in a dark area._

"Where the heck are we?" Ninten pondered.

_All of a sudden, it didn't get dark anymore, but the area was strange._

"This looks like an underwater laboratory!" said Lloyd.

"Let's try to find a way out!" said Ninten.

_The kids search around for an exit. The laboratory was so big, and the windows had shown fish passing by underwater. After a long search, they find a ladder. Just then, the pressure of the lake became too much and the windows began to crack, causing some water to start filling up the place._

"Uh-oh, guys, I think we are in big trouble!" Ana cried.

"Quick, up the ladder!" cried Ninten.

_The kids quickly climbed the ladder, and at the top, there was a red robot standing there._

"A robot," said Ninten.

_Just then, the robot turns itself on._

"I AM EVE. GEORGE CREATED ME TO TAKE CARE OF ANYONE WITHIN HIS BLOODLINE. DETECTING 1 RELATIVE TO GEORGE. NAME: NINTEN. AGE: 12. HOMETOWN: PODUNK."

"Whoa!" said Ninten. "Eve, can you get us out of here?"

"AFFIRMATIVE. LABORATORY WILL BE DESTROYED BY THE PRESSURE OF THE LAKE IN 5... 4... 3..."

_As Eve counted down, the windows cracked more and more as the water filled up faster._

"2... 1..."

_The windows completely shatter and the laboratory floods with water. As that happens, Eve saves the kids at the last second and she flies with them to the peak of Mt. Itoi._


	8. The Eight Melodies

_When we last left Ninten, Lloyd, Ana, and their new robot friend Eve, they all escaped from the laboratory that they were in, which flooded with water. Eve flies them to the top of Mt. Itoi. When they landed, a bunch of robots and Starmen of the highest rank ambush them. Ninten attacked a Starman with his baseball bat, Lloyd blows up an Oh-Mook by shooting his Air Gun at it, and Ana smashes a Star Miner with her frying pan. Just then, a red fembot that looked similar to Jane and Caroline shows up._

"I AM SUSIE. MASTER GYIYG WANTS FOR ME TO KILL YOU ALL. INITIATING PK THUNDER GAMMA."

_Susie launches lightning bolts at the kids and Eve. The kids dodged them, but Eve was unaffected. Eve charges at Susie and punches her on the chin. Eve and Susie have a punching match to the death, and Eve became victorious when her last punch makes Susie explode. The kids cheered for Eve, but the cheering was cut short when a huge shadow descends on them. It belonged to another giant robot, this time it was red and had "XX" engraved on its chestplate._

"R7038XX MUST TERMINATE TARGETS."

"NINTEN, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS NEED TO GO."

"But Eve, we can't leave you!" cried Ninten. "We've fought two of these things before, and they're super tough!"

"GO NOW. DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME."

_Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana hesitantly leave Eve to fight R7038XX on her own. The giant robot's attacks were slow as they could not strike Eve, who was super nimble. Eve's attacks, however, managed to pierce the hide of R7038XX._

"Whoa!" said Lloyd. "Eve's much stronger than we thought!"

"Way to go, Eve!" Ninten and Ana cheered in unison.

_Eve and R7038XX were still going at it, but Eve started to run out of energy._

"EVE RUNNING LOW ON ENERGY. SADLY FOR NINTEN AND FRIENDS, INITIATING SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE."

"WHAT?" the kids shouted in unison.

_Eve latches on to R7038XX's back while the giant robot struggles. Eve was starting to steadily glow brighter as she ticked._

"SELF-DESTRUCTING IN 10... 9... 8... 6..."

"6? What happened to 7?" Ninten cried.

"JUST KIDDING. BUT CANNOT ABORT SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE. 7... 6..."

"Aww man, Eve, we just met you! We can't lose another ally!"

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... GOOD-BYE, NINTEN."

_Eve self-destructs, scrapping R7038XX in the process. Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana were shocked at the sacrifice that she made._

"Eve..." Ninten said with tears rolling down his face.

"She saved us from drowning and risked her life to keep us more safe," Lloyd said as his voice broke amidst tears.

"I pray for The Lord to accept robots into Heaven when they shut down for good," Ana sobbed.

_The kids cried over their lost new friend when Ninten discovers something in Eve's body. It was another music box, just like the one in Mimmie's doll back at home. Ninten picked it up and winded it up, playing a melody. After the kids finished listening to the melody, they are transported to Queen Mary's throne room._

"Ninten, Lloyd, Ana, all of you have done a magnificent job finding all of the melodies!"

"But Queen Mary, we only got 7 Melodies!" said Ninten.

"Yes, but I now remember the song the moment you got the melody from Eve! And now, I will sing the song, for you:

_Take a melody_

_Simple as can be_

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony_

_Raise your voices_

_All day long now love grows strong now_

_Sing a melody of_

_Love, oh love_

"That... that was beautiful, Queen Mary," said Ninten. "What do you guys think?"

"I wish my mother had a song as pretty as that," said Lloyd.

"It's so heavenly," said Ana.

"Thank you, all of you. Ninten, I remember now. That song... I used to sing it... to Gyiyg when he was a little baby."

"Gyiyg?"

"When George and I were abducted... there was this baby that they had. He was so endearing that I adopted him as if he were my own child."

"Ninten, your grandfather is AN ALIEN!" said Lloyd.

"N-no..." Ninten said in disbelief.

"Whenever Gyiyg got restless, I would sing the song to lull him to sleep. I always loved how his tail would wag like a puppy..."

"NOOOOOO!" Ninten shouted in a manner similar to Luke Skywalker. "Noooooo!"

"Don't be discouraged, Ninten. You three have reached the end of your quest, and the only way to stop Gyiyg is to sing the song. You have shown amazing feats of strength and made new friends. Lloyd, your bravery shined through much brighter than I would ever see. And Ana, you've become much stronger and less shy over the course of this adventure. Good luck to all of you. George, it's me, Maria! I'll be with you soon!"

_Just then, the castle crumbled around them, and Queen Mary, or rather, Maria, vanished along with the rest of Magicant, and the kids were transported to George's grave at Mt. Itoi's peak._

"Great-grandma Maria..." Ninten said softly.

"So, your great-grandmother looked after Gyiyg," said Lloyd. "As cool as the idea of having an alien grandpa sounds, this doesn't sound so well considering that-"

"Enough, Lloyd! I'm freaking out enough over this revelation!"

_Ninten went down on his knees before his great-grandfather's grave._

"Great-grandpa George, I understand why this was all secret..."

"Ninten, it's okay. All we have to do is sing the song to Gyiyg, and we win!" said Ana.

"Yeah... yeah! You're right! We've come so far, and we can't stop until we save everybody!"

"That's the spirit!"

_Just then, Ninten senses something coming from a nearby cave._

"I sense... everybody that Gyiyg has captured. Let's go into that cave!"

_The kids go inside the cave and see hundreds of people that have been abducted placed in pods. They make their way through until..._

"Ana? Ana, sweetheart?" a woman's voice called.

"Mama?" Ana responded.

_The kids rush to Ana's mother's pod._

"Mommy! Are you okay?"

"Ana, I'm so glad to see you!"

"Mom, this is Ninten, and this is Lloyd."

"And your daughter is very lovely," said Ninten.

"Ninten!" Ana giggled with a blush, until she snaps out of it. "Hang on mama, we'll get all of you out!"

"No, honey, you can't."

"Why not?"

"All of us want you three to defeat our captor. He's on the other side. Don't worry about us, and please be careful!"

"Don't worry. We will."

_The kids head through the pod room and find a tunnel. They go through the tunnel and reach the end, where they are on the very top of Mt. Itoi. Just then, a huge mothership ascends, and a light-blue alien with long, lanky limbs, puffy ears, and a long tail floats down._

"Gyiyg!" Ninten exclaimed.

"Ah, Ninten and friends. You all have come a long way to get here."

"Give me back my mother, you pale monster!" Ana shouted.

"I'm afraid that you have asked for the impossible, small female Earth child. You humans have done horrible things since George stole my people's secrets of PSI."

"Gyiyg..." Ninten said softly.

"Bite your fleshy taste-sensory organ, Ninten! You know, maybe we can work something out. Join me, and you'll be spared!"

"I'd rather die from an asthma attack!"

"Fine! Go ahead and die with all of the other ugly humans!"

_Gyiyg blasts a huge surge of psychic energy at the kids, knocking them back several feet._

"Ana, use the shields!"

"Right! PK SHIELD BETA!"

_Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana were shielded. Gyiyg attacks again, but the kids stayed with their feet planted firmly thanks to the shields. Gyiyg noticed the gleam from Ninten's shield._

"PK Shield... you clever monkeys..."

"Gyiyg, it's over!" said Ninten. "Okay guys, let's sing the song!"

"Song?"

_The trio began to sing Eight Melodies._

_Take a melody_

_Simple as can be_

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony_

_Raise your voices_

_All day long now love grows strong now_

_Sing a melody of_

_Love, oh love..._

_They sang it in rounds, repeatedly, much to Gyiyg' great discomfort._

"That song... that infernal song!"

_As our heroes continue to sing, Gyiyg' conscience steadily surfaced._

"Mama Maria... you loved me... I was... happy... "

_The song made him spiraled him further in despair._

"No. No! NO! Cease that singing at once!"

_The kids continue to sang, and got to the next verse:_

_Love is the power_

_Love is the glory_

_Love is the beauty and the joy of spring_

_Love is the magic_

_Love is the story_

_Love is the Melody we all can sing..._

"I... I CAN'T TAKE IT! SHUT UP AND STOP SINGING _NOW!_"

_Gyiyg launched another blast of PSI energy at the kids. It was stronger than the last, and it knocked the kids back, where their PSI Shields shattered. Gyiyg floated down, got on his knees, and sobbed. Ninten walked up to him._

"Gyiyg, your love for my great-grandmother was the reason you gave in. Even though you are an adopted alien, in a way, you are my grandfather. Maybe we can get to know each other."

"No Ninten... I can't. I'm so confused... I must go. But this most likely will not be our last encounter with each other."

_Gyiyg floated back up to his mothership and fled._

* * *

><p><em>Back at the summit of Mt. Itoi, Ana is reunited with her mom as the rest of the freed Earth people exit the cave. Ana and her mom share a hug after so long.<em>

"We did it, mom," said Ana with tears of joy. "We saved everybody."

_Teddy, his health fully recovered, now sings daily at The Live Show. He was singing All That I Needed (Was You)._

"I never knew, what I had missed, until the moment that we kissed, angel divine, now you are mine, I feel brand new... and now at last, my life's complete, baby, your love's the missing piece, here in my arms, here in my heart, all that I needed was you..."

_The kidnapped grown-ups return to their lonely children in Youngtown._

"Dad?"

"Mom!"

_Back in Snowman, Ana must part ways with Ninten and Lloyd._

"Ninten, I promise I won't forget you, so I will not say goodbye, just... 'til we meet again!"

_With that, Ana gives Ninten one last peck on the lips. Back in Merrysville, Lloyd returns to a hero's welcome at Twinkle Elementary School._

"Hooray! Hooray for Lloyd!" the students cheered as they toss Lloyd into the air.

"Hey Lloyd, what happened to that robot?" Ninten asks.

_Just then, Lloyd Mk. II comes in and sets off a party favor full of confetti. And finally, back in Podunk, Ninten comes home to be greeted by his mother, his sisters, and Mick._

"We're so happy to see you back in one piece, Ninten," said his mother. "To celebrate your triumph over that alien, we're having Prime Ribs tonight!"

_Meanwhile in Snowman, Ana receives a letter from Ninten. It read, "Dear Ana, how are things going? Things are great back in Podunk. Canary Village just had a new baby chick that hatched and it's really cute. By any chance can you come up sometime to see? Yours truly, Ninten."_

"Oh Ninten..." Ana said to herself with a smile.

_Back home in Podunk, Ninten takes off his cap and lays down on his bed to rest._

"Well, Earth's crisis is finally over. Time to hit the sack after such a long adventure. G'night folks!"

* * *

><p>GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY, WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THIS STORY.<p> 


End file.
